BRIEFING BY CAREY PAINTS GRIM PICTURE

ALBANY, Jan. 12—Governor Carey, in a first‐of‐its kind briefing for legislators, painted a grim portrait today of longterm economic trends in the state.

The briefing was clearly designed to accustom the Legislature to the Governor's contention that hard times are here and that it is high time the Legislature stopped behaving like an ostrich about the fact.

“All hell is going to break loose when the budget comes out,” predicted one of Mr. Carey's aides. “We want to get this message out early.”

Wielding a pointer at a series of charts and graphs. the Governor outlined the state's economic stagnation over a 15year period with particular emphasis on the last six years. His charts showed continued increases in taxes and public spending, accompanied not by economic growth, but by economic decline.

Mr. Carey tried last year to make cuts in local‐assistance programs, particularly education, welfare and revenue sharing. But in an election year, his proposals met with considerable resistance. Again this year he is trying to cut these programs.

Local‐assistance programs encompass a variety of services for which cities and towns are repaid by the state under a complex series of formulas. In one of the few light moments during the briefing, Governor Carey compared local assistance formulas to the notoriously complicated system by which the Federal Government distributes the so‐called Hill‐Burton money for hospitals.

“Mr. Hill has departed from the Congress and Mr. Burton has departed from the earth, and neither one of them understands, it yet,” he said.

Medicaid Cuts Expected

The Governor is expected to ask for cuts in Medicaid assistance as well as cuts in school aid, welfare and revenue sharing this year.

During a question period after the presentation, Assemblyman Dominick L. DiCarlo, Republican of Brooklyn, asked whether the chart showing an 84 percent increase in the level of local spending over the national average distorted the facts.

He said that since a great deal of local spending was mandated by state law, it was not fair to blame the localities.

The Governor agreed in part and said he intended to do something about mandated spending.

The briefing, held in the ornate Red Room, the Governor's formal office, was packed, with legislators and reporters crowded around an inadequate number of chairs. Most of those present were Assemblymen, the Senate having already recessed for the week.

“I have a simple message.” the Governor said. “We have built a wall around our state—a wall of high taxes, high spending and cumbersome regulations. We will redefine our government commitments to recognize the need for a new equilibrium between the public and private sectors in New York.”

The legislators were quick to blame the bad economic news on factors other than taxes and public spending.